Sochi 2014: Britain’s snow queen

Until Sunday, the only Britons who had earned a medal in the inaugural snowboard slopestyle competition at the Winter Olympics were the viewers, for putting up with the commentators’ inanely excitable yelping. But even the most curmudgeonly must have accepted – as they witnessed Jenny Jones soar high into the mountain air – that they were witnessing a little piece of history.

One of the joys of the Winter Games is that they enable viewers to become instant experts in, and enthusiasts for, all manner of pursuits (witness the previous craze for curling). Previously, mention of a “frontside 360”, “switch 1440” or “backside rodeo” would have been met with mystification. Jones’s bronze may inspire a legion of imitators, or it may not. But as Britain’s first ever medallist in the snow, she has got the Sochi Games off to a flying start.